Great. While the suits on Wall Street who ruined our economy are getting bailed out to continue their lives of luxury, working-class Americans may be getting extorted for even more cash from Uncle Sam. From Americans for Tax Reform:
Most "progressives" will jump onboard with this idea because it's a tax incentive to promote "public health" or some nonsense. Well, yuppie culture is contributing to the wussification of America, and I don't hear anyone in Congress talking about slapping yoga mats with an excise tax to fund S-CHIP. Quitting smoking is no fun either (as I'm learning from personal experience). It makes you act like an idiot and withdrawal can even make you lash out unexpectedly (e.g. at the hospital staff in Bremerton). Is this the type of behavior we are trying to promote?WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 111th Congress is less than a week old, and already the first tax increase has been put on the table.
What:
A 61 cents per pack, or 156 percent, increase in the federal excise tax on cigarettes
to fund a proposed $35 billion expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance
Program (S-CHIP).Who Will Be Burdened?
The middle- and low-income Americans they said they will not raise taxes on:
- 55 percent of smokers are “working poor”
- One in four smokers live below the poverty line
- On average, smokers, whose median income is a little more than $36,000, make about 30 percent less than non-smokers.
See what the others have said:
7 comments:
I'm well off and I smoke. If they up the price of a pack another 61 cents, I'll quit though.
I said that, too, Darren, a long time ago -- every time they went up I said, That's it!! But, of course, I kept on smoking. Dumb thing to do, but I didn't want anybody to dare tell me I couldn't! Finally quit, but would go back if they didn't cost so much -- yes, other reasons, too, darn it.
Kath
Heh. Imagine my surprise. Think they'll create a federal excise tax on lighters and matches too?
Maybe Obama will quit smoking.
I'm all for it. While they are at it they should have a federal restaraunt tax on fast food establishments. These two things combined would help pay for the medicare that the hordes uninsured low income people in this country consume.
but LT, i thought you quit that nasty expensive habit already????
haha, go back to taxachussetts Nate
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